Chapter 214 It Belongs Only to You
After the homecoming banquet ended, my workload exploded, with endless "important guests" to meet every day.
These people were incredibly troublesome - not only did they demand to see me alone, with no unrelated personnel present, but they also insisted on confidential meetings, demanding that no one else know who I'd met with.
There were only so many visiting guests - didn't everyone know each other anyway?
Although I kept secretly grumbling about their behavior, I smiled and cooperated on the surface.
Five days later, I finally finished the busy reception tasks.
When my phone chimed with a new message notification, I was dozing in a massage chair.
I lazily picked up my phone and found it was a message from Julie.
"Bella, the documentary film from the homecoming banquet has been edited. Take a look."
I'd almost forgotten about this.
The documentary film was Julie's idea. She believed every important stage of life deserved careful documentation, offering a unique experience when looking back someday in the future.
Jacqueline happened to know a skilled photography team. They hit it off immediately, and both Gale and Marcus had no objections. I was also curious about what I looked like through other people's eyes that day.
The photographer and editor were truly professional - starting with the moment I walked into the banquet hall, the use of slow motion paired with gentle background music created an amazing atmosphere. Candid shots of other guests' expressions were interspersed throughout, with small text noting each guest's identity, making it feel like a high-end film.
I sat on the sofa with great interest and had Adrian help me cast the video to the big screen.
Just a few minutes in, Lucas arrived.
I instinctively checked the time - it was only a little after 3 PM.
"Why are you here so early today?"
Lucas had been discharged from the hospital. Not only had he resumed his busy work, but he'd also resumed his habit of rushing to see me whenever he had time.
"Tonight's schedule only has one boring dinner, so I just canceled it." Lucas sat down beside me. "What are you watching?"
"The homecoming banquet." I suddenly felt a bit shy and pretended to focus on the video. Lucas stopped talking too.
Soon, the video reached the part where Lucas gave me the necklace.
At the time, when I saw Lucas walking toward me with a velvet gift box, I almost thought he was going to propose to me in front of everyone. I was so scared I looked back at Gale twice.
But Gale seemed to already know what Lucas was going to do and stood calmly to the side without stopping him.
On screen, Lucas opened the gift box, and the brilliant light of the gemstones reflected on my face. Outside the screen, I unconsciously grasped the necklace at my chest.
This classically designed natural sapphire necklace lay quietly in Lucas's palm. It was handmade by Nicole, using fourteen large sapphires and fourteen small sapphires, with twenty-eight round white pearls and pink pearls arranged alternately, symbolizing the starry river. It was my fourteenth birthday gift.
Hidden beneath the central sapphire was my name, "Bella."
But after Michelle stole the necklace, she didn't cherish it. She only pried off the gemstones and sold them, but she also ground away my name.
And Lucas spent time, effort, and money to find the missing gemstones and restore the damaged parts.
From the day he learned this necklace's true owner was me, he'd been waiting for the chance to return it to me.
The brilliantly sparkling sapphires were as gentle as an old memory. My eyes reddened, and just then Lucas said to me in his deep, moving voice,
"I searched everywhere."
"It only belongs to you."
In the footage, I held back tears, my face full of emotion.
Even now, recalling those feelings, my chest still felt warm.
This necklace held extraordinary meaning for me, and for Lucas, it symbolized our first meeting.
Lucas pulled me into his arms. I naturally nestled against him, and Lucas kissed my forehead. "Send me a copy of this video too."
I agreed with a sound, my voice a bit nasal. Then, in the footage, other guests loudly congratulated me, competing to invest in me and give me gifts. Lucas had wanted me to stay moved by his carefully prepared surprise a bit longer, but his face darkened on the spot.
Even now, Lucas was still annoyed. "Those idiots, just copying me. Can their gifts mean the same as mine?"
I rubbed Lucas's face. "Don't be upset, I only like the gift you gave me."
"Really?" Lucas was clearly pleased but had to ask again.
"Well, actually I also really like those pink crystal earrings."
Lucas was speechless.
I continued with a smile, "The medicinal herbs from the shipping group heir were nice too, and the complete collection of rare snow mountain plant specimens from the Hartwell family."
Lucas irritably pinched my waist, pressed me down on the sofa, and kissed me hard, blocking out those words he didn't want to hear.
While we were playing around, my phone rang.
I pushed Lucas away and picked up my phone. Jonas's name flashed on the screen.
Lucas snorted with displeasure. I patted his arm and answered the call.
"Bella, my stomach hurts right now. Can you come to my place?" Jonas said in a weak voice.
"Stomach ache? Does it hurt a lot? Where exactly does it hurt?" I asked quickly.
Lucas hugged me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder, and said to Jonas, "If you're not feeling well, call an ambulance and go to the hospital. That's common sense that even a three-year-old knows."
"Lucas, you're clinging to Bella again!" Jonas's voice suddenly became full of energy.
Lucas narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Your stomach doesn't hurt anymore?"
"It hurts," Jonas became weak again, "probably above my belly button."
I could already tell Jonas wasn't really sick, but his strong insistence that I come to his house was truly unusual. After thinking about it, I agreed.
I set off immediately, and Lucas, worried, came with me.
When Jonas saw Lucas, he wasn't surprised at all, but he just couldn't help rolling his eyes to express his unwelcome.
"Why do you cling to Bella every day? Sure enough, divorce is the best training for a man."
A vein bulged at Lucas's temple, and he asked with a cold laugh, "What trick are you playing now? Faking illness to get Bella's sympathy?"
"Jonas, you really did it on purpose?" I showed a serious expression.
Jonas quickly waved his hands. "I did fake it, but I have a special reason - the person who's really sick is actually my cousin."
"Silas is my cousin, but we've been close since childhood." Jonas invited us in, his brow unconsciously furrowed. "He died in an accident many years ago. I didn't know he was actually alive until recently, when he suddenly returned to the family."
In the living room, an incredibly thin man, like a skeleton wrapped in skin, sat facing the weak sunlight by the window.
His light golden hair clung sparsely to his scalp. Even so, you could still tell from his features that he had once been a very handsome man.
Two elderly couples sat quietly beside him, silently crying, looking at me with hopeful eyes.
I'd seen this kind of look in the eyes of many terminal patients' family members.
"Hello, so your name is Silas." I walked up to the skeletal man, feeling like I could lift him with one hand.
"Hello, Miracle Surgeon." Silas smiled weakly. "We meet again."